For the past month, 17-year-old James Pickett has had to make several trips a day to his grandfather’s house to fill up a bucket of water. It’s the only way he can wash his dishes or flush the toilet.
The reason? His family’s heritage home in central Abbotsford has a 30-foot well that suddenly went dry on October 6.
“All of a sudden I come home one day from school and nothing works. I turn on the taps, I was really confused. I was calling everyone, wondering ‘did someone turn off the pump?'” said James.
The water hasn’t turned on since, and his family – who spent the summer in Saskatchewan working the harvest – aren’t sure when they can return home.
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In a Facebook post that went viral, the Pickett family claimed the well went dry because the city is tapping into the underground aquifer they use, in order to feed Mill Lake and other projects around the city.
But the City of Abbotsford disputes their claim. While nobody was available for an interview today, the city’s general manager of engineering told CKNW there was “no evidence to support that the city’s use of our wells has any impact on the use of their well.”
“Our wells are located about 2.2 kilometres east of the site, and our wells are much deeper, all the way to 39 metres,” says Peter Sparanese.
The City of Abbotsford has told the Pickett family they can opt into their water system, but they would need to pay approximately $14,000 up front – money the family says they don’t have, after losing half of their income with the crash in the oil and gas industry.
“This is a state of emergency. We’re asking for help from our city. We just want to be treated fairly,” says Leah Pickett.
Abbotsford officials have confirmed there will be a phone meeting with the Picketts on Wednesday. The family says a resolution can’t come soon enough.
“We might have to come back to B.C. and see if we can get our son. I can’t imagine leaving him alone for Christmas,” says Leah.
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